LeConte's Sparrow

[Henry Domke]

I felt lucky to catch a glimpse of this LeConte's Sparrow darting in and out of the prairie grass last week. This was on the edge one of our lakes here at the Prairie Garden Trust.
After reading Jim Neiger's eBook called Flight Plan I'm inspired to try more hand held photographs with long lenses. The raw file was worked up in Lightroom 5 and Photoshop CC.

Canon 5D3
Canon 600 f/4 II
Hand Held
ISO 1600
f/6.3
1/320th of a second

[Marina Scarr]

Lucky you to have a glimpse AND a photograph of this sparrow. You have a nhice angle on the bird with nice details and I like that you can see the toes. For me the BG is too distracting.

[Bill Dix]

This is a nice image of a tough sparrow to get a clear shot of. Seems surprisingly sharp for HH @ 1/320 with the 600; well done. I agree with Marina about the BG. Don't know how large a crop this is, but I'd be tempted to take some off the top and right if the I! holds up; maybe add a slivver on the left if you have it.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Beautiful sparrow, and I like how it sits in the "V" of the perch. BG is a bit distracting as already mentioned - Bill's suggestion is worth trying.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

I like the detail here and the pose but must agree about the bg being a bit busy. Congratulations on getting the shot!

[Henry Domke]

Thanks everyone. I agree that the background is too distracting. I wonder if reducing the contrast of the darker areas and playing with the colors could help.

[Mervyn Marsh]

Hey Henry, great photo back ground doesn't bother me. .only small thing is the branch covering the little birds leg. still it's very nice.
Cheers,
Merv

[Satish Ranadive]

Superb image of beautiful Sparrow with very nice colors and details.Rest has been mentioned above.

Regards,
Satish.